“What is the Average Age and Disability Level of Older People Moving Into Long-Term Care?,” by Greg Glasgow, U. of Colorado School of Medicine “After crunching the numbers, Lam found that the mean age for people entering care facilities is 84, and their entry is typically preceded by months of severe disability and escalating caretaking at home, typically by unpaid family members. The average person moving into a nursing home is already severely disabled and receiving about 27 hours a week of care for at least one month, he found. Severe disability means they have a lot of difficulty or someone
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“Most Seniors Will Need Long-Term Care. Here’s How to Save for It,” Barron’s “Imagine you knew that 80% of the homes in your neighborhood would eventually suffer damage in a storm—but less than 4% of them had insurance that would protect them against a potentially catastrophic expense. This lopsided risk scenario is similar to how unprepared Americans are when it comes to long-term care. A 2021 report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that around 80% of 65-year-olds will need some measure of long-term care and support services in their later years. Yet only 3.1% of Americans have a long-term
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“Experts create new vision for senior living,” by Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnight’s Senior Living “Unconstrained by the parameters of the traditional long-term care model, a group of experts has developed a new vision of eldercare that they say is customizable, person-centered and coordinated. At the Center for Innovation’s 2023 conference this summer, C-suite leaders were challenged to build the aging support system of their dreams, ignoring today’s assisted living, memory care, nursing home and other long-term care models. Their vision is laid out in a new white paper, ‘Beyond Nursing Homes.’”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Don’t bother. This is
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“Minnesota Tops New AARP Long-Term Care Scorecard; Other States Lag Behind,” by Bruce Horovitz, AARP   Policy Suggestions “At issue: The long-term care system has mostly failed to rebound even more than three years after COVID-19 began. This is the first LTSS Scorecard that crunches data — using a variety of publicly available sources, such as the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics — from the very height of the pandemic and beyond. Even as the cost of home care has greatly increased, the availability and quality of direct care
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“Long-term-care planning using trusts,” by Dave Strausfeld, Journal of Accountancy   Policy Suggestions “Some clients who want to plan for the use of Medicaid for long-term care may benefit from creating an irrevocable trust, according to Elizabeth Forspan, Esq., who gave a highly rated presentation at the AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2023 conference titled ‘Paying for Long Term Care: Using Trusts for Planning Around Shortfalls in LTC Resources.’ The basic idea behind such planning is this: If clients transfer assets to an irrevocable trust at least five years (in most states) before applying for Medicaid for long-term care, the Medicaid
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“California is leading the way in Medicaid abuse,” by Jon Coupal, The Orange County Register   Policy Suggestions “In approving California’s request to permanently dissolve asset verification for Medi-Cal, CMS is setting a dangerous precedent for the rest of the nation. The situation demands scrutiny and a transparent debate. Rather than allowing this policy shift to unfold in the shadows, a public debate should be robust and inclusive. This is a decision that affects not only those in need of healthcare assistance but also every taxpayer who bears the financial burden of such expansion, including future generations.”   LTC Comment,
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“Feds Rein In Use Of Predictive Software That Limits Care For Medicare Advantage Patients,” KFF Health News   Policy Suggestions “The federal government will try to even the playing field next year, when the CMS begins restricting how Medicare Advantage plans use predictive technology tools to make some coverage decisions. About half the people eligible for full Medicare benefits are enrolled in the private plans, attracted by their lower costs and enhanced benefits, and a host of nonmedical extras like transportation. Insurers receive a monthly payment from the federal government for each enrollee, regardless of how much care they need. HHS
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“Does Putting Your Home in a Trust Protect It From Medicaid?,” by Patrick Villanova, Yahoo!Finance “Today, Paragon is releasing an important new report, Long-Term Care: The Solution, authored by Stephen Moses. … Policy Suggestions “An individual can protect their assets from Medicaid, including their home, by placing them into a trust. Essentially, the assets become owned by the trust and not by the individual. This mechanism can decrease the individual’s asset count for Medicaid eligibility, presenting a way to potentially conserve wealth and secure necessary medical care. However, like all decisions, this presents benefits and potential risks. Involving a financial advisor in navigating these complexities
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“Release of ‘Long-Term Care: The Solution,’” by Brian Blase, Paragon Health Institute “Today, Paragon is releasing an important new report, Long-Term Care: The Solution, authored by Stephen Moses. … Policy Suggestions Medicaid LTC should be restored as a safety net for indigent elderly people. Lawmakers should eliminate the ability to access publicly funded LTC while preserving wealth. This paper details seven options to empower younger and middle-age Americans to meet a new, publicized individual LTC planning responsibility. This would unleash wealth currently unused for LTC that remains locked in home equity, individual retirement accounts, life insurance, and estates and reorient the LTC
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“AHCA CEO: Nursing Home Policy Nightmare Just Starting, Business Nightmare Persists — But Clinical Nightmare Over,” by Tim Mullaney, Skilled Nursing News “The ‘clinical nightmare’ created by Covid-19 has come to an end, but the ‘business nightmare’ related to the pandemic is ongoing, and the ‘policy nightmare’ has only just begun. That’s according to Mark Parkinson, CEO and president of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), the largest nursing home provider association in the United States. ‘What’s keeping me up right now is the policy nightmare,’ Parkinson said Monday at the AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention and Expo,
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